Mates
by SnogginGodess
Summary: An AlyNawat fic! YAY! Nawat questions Aly about their relationship. I can't write summaries, just R&R, please.
1. Sneaking Up

(Disclaimer: I wish I owned Nawat....he's my FAVORITE! But, unfortunately I am a pennyless author, like Christian in Moulin Rouge. Oh, I don't own Moulin Rouge either. This takes place two months after "Trickster's Choice" ends.)  
  
Alianne sat under a tree, fanning herself with a slender hand. The goats grazed peacefully as Junai sharpened one of her many daggers. Aly's hair had almost grown past her chin, and she brushed it out of her eyes with an impatient hand. She stretched her legs out in front of her, and stood up.  
  
"Junai? Can you keep an eye on the goats if I go for a swim?" Aly asked, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm restless and in need of a bath," she told the other girl with a smile.  
  
"No way, Aly," Junai shook her head. "I'm a bodyguard, remember? I can't leave you!" She fixed Aly with a stubborn glare.  
  
Aly was expecting that. "Well, I need to bathe, and the goats need to be watched. I could run in, and get someone else to take care for a bit, and you could come with me. But, of course, I will be bathing bare."  
  
"I've seen people naked before," Junai grunted, eyes on her dagger. Aly rolled her eyes and noticed a flock of crows seated in the trees.  
  
"The crows can guard me, Junai. Besides, if you insist being with me all the time, I might require you to come with me every time I bathe, or use need to use the bathroom," Aly said, crossing her arms and fixing Junai with an equally stubborn glare.  
  
Junai threw her hands up. "Fine, but if you get hurt, I'll kill you," she warned. "And, if you so much as squeal, I come bounding in."  
  
Aly smiled. "Fine," she agreed, and walked off into the bushes. She continued at a brisk walk for about three minutes, until she arrived at the creek. She turned to the crows who had landed on tree branches. "Turn around 'til I'm in the water," she scolded, half-joking. The fact that they could turn into men at any given moment rattled her nerves slightly. She pulled off her clothes, and slid into the cool water.  
  
"Cold. Very cold!" she said, moving in deeper. "Better than the horribly hot weather, though." She took a deep breath, and dove down. She held her breath as long as she could, then burst upwards again. She pushed her sopping hair out of her eyes, and dove under again. The water felt so good, and refreshing. She swam underwater, enjoying her time away from everyone.  
  
The Duchess still wore mourning clothes, as did Sarai and Dove. Elsren and Petranne had a hard time accepting that their father was not coming back. Aly had spent nearly every waking minute consoling them. When she wasn't comforting them, she was either tending goats, or being dragged into the blacksmith's shop by Nawat, so he could show off arrows and try to kiss her.  
  
Not that she exactly resisted his kisses. Aly sighed, and shook her wet head. Once again, she dove under the water. It felt so peaceful and serene, she wished she was a fish so she could stay there forever. Her thoughts were interrupted when something grabbed her foot.  
  
She instinctively kicked her captor, and rose to the top, to take a breath before her lungs exploded. She took a breath, and whipped around, ready to fight whoever had grabbed her. She hurried for the shore, to grab the daggers hidden in her clothes, when she heard a familiar laugh.  
  
"Aly, did I frighten you?"  
  
"Nawat?" she yelped, covering her breasts. "What are you doing here!?!"  
  
"Swimming," he said simply. "You went in the creek, and it looked fun. I could not swim when I was a crow."  
  
"Nawat, I'm not clothed!" Aly squeaked.  
  
Nawat shook his head. "The crows are never clothed, but we are not embarrassed. I do not mind Aly. I am not clothed, either."  
  
"Nawat," she said, tiredly, hands still covering herself, "if two people...a man and a woman who aren't married are together and they are naked, people will say...," she searched for the right words. "They'll say bad things about them."  
  
"Oh," Nawat said, looking confused. "What is 'married'?"  
  
Aly sighed. "Mates," she said. "Mates forever."  
  
"Then we are married, Aly," Nawat said. "It is all right for us to be unclothed."  
  
"We aren't married Nawat," Aly said. "We aren't mates, either. Now, please close your eyes so I can get out and get dressed."  
  
Nawat frowned, but obeyed. Aly hurried out, grabbed her clothing, and hid behind a bush to change. When she emerged, she saw that Nawat had put breeches on.  
  
"Here," she said, softly, handing him his tunic.  
  
He looked at her with sad eyes. "Aly, why are we not mates? I preen you, and you let me mate-feed...I mean 'kiss' you."  
  
Aly sighed, and sat down next to him. "I'm sorry Nawat." She tentatively reached a hand up, and ran her fingers through his hair. He leaned in closer to her, as she continued to preen him.  
  
"Aly, why aren't we mates?" he asked, eyes closed.  
  
"I don't know," she said quietly. She couldn't think of a good answer. She stopped preening him, and looked at him. "I don' know, Nawat."  
  
He opened his eyes, and sat up straight. He began to run his fingers through her hair. "Be my mate, Aly," he said, softly. "I snuck up on you, in the creek, like Sarai said."  
  
Aly laughed in spite of herself. "Yes, you did. You scared me a great deal, too!"  
  
"I am sorry," he said, still preening her. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. Aly kissed back, and Nawat put one hand behind her head, and gently brushed her cheek with the other. Aly deepened her kiss, and he kissed fiercely back.  
  
When they broke apart, he looked into her eyes. Once again, Aly saw Nawat the man, not Nawat the crow. "I love you Aly," he murmured, and put an arm around her.  
  
And Aly did not resist.  
  
(A/N: You like? Should I continue? :-D) 


	2. Under the Moon

(a/N: Here's a little Valentine's Day present for all of you! :-P)  
  
They sat there for a while, Aly's head leaned up against Nawat's shoulder. She closed her eyes and Nawat held her close to him. He had just started to preen her with his free hand, when they were quite rudely interupted.  
  
"I thought you had drowned!" Junai stood there, an image of anger. Her hands were firmly planted on her hips, her mouth turned down in a frown. Aly would have jumped to her feet and tried to apologize to Junai, but she noticed a smile in the older woman's eyes.  
  
"You're not angry, Junai. I know you too well," Aly said, confidently. She sat up a bit, but Nawat pulled him closer to him again.  
  
"As you can see, I'm not drowned."  
  
A smile crept up on Junai's face. "All right. But you should get back to the goats."  
  
"I will come, too," Nawat said, standing up. He offered a hand to Aly, and pulled her up. "We are mates, now."  
  
Aly blushed as Junai looked at her, smiling wider. She looked at the ground, even more embarrassed that she was blushing in the first place. Just then Nawat, tilted his head to the sky, and frowned. "My friends are calling. They have griffin feathers. Shiny ones for the arrows." He looked at Aly, and kissed her nose. "I will see you again, very soon," he promised, before hurrying off.  
  
Aly walked back to the goats. The good thing about having Junai as a bodyguard, she decided, was that Junai didn't ask any questions unless it had to do with her safety.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aly had decided to eat outside, underneath the blue-black skies, and the glowing moon that night. Cheanol, Junai and Ulasim had all joined her. They dined on a rice dish (studded with shiny peppers that Aly avoided), rolls, cheese, and thinly sliced ham. The four ate in near silence, until Ulasim cleared his throat, and stood up. Stretching, the raka smiled. "Getting cold out," he said, simply, before turning to walk away. Junai stood up quickly, and followed her father. Cheanol smiled slyly.  
  
"You can clean this up, right?" the cook asked, motioning to the food.  
  
"Where are you going, Cheanol?" Aly asked, hands on hips and eyebrow raised. She suspected the raka were off to a "secret" meeting, that they thought Aly didn't know about. She watched the woman with her Sight, ready to detect any lies.  
  
"You know where," Cheanol chuckled. It wasn't a lie. Aly sighed, but then smiled at the raka cook. Cheanol smiled toothily back, before hurrying off. Aly began to gather up the food, to move inside, when a hand on her shoulder startled her.  
  
"I snuck up on you again," Nawat said, bending down to kiss her softly.   
  
"I should have known it was you," Aly said, making a stubborn face. Nawat laughed, and combed her hair out of her eyes.   
  
"You are PRETENDING you are angry," he said, proudly. "But you are not. Your eyes say that you are happy to see me again."  
  
Aly smiled at him. "You're right," she admitted. She settled down in the lush, green grass. She turned her eyes to the moon. Nawat sat next to her, and looked up at the moon, too. They were perfectly still and quiet for a little while.  
  
"Aly?" Nawat leaned over, to whisper in her ear. His breath was warm and tickled.   
  
"Hmmmm?" she hummed.  
  
"I love you," he said, voice and eyes serious. He seemed a bit worried. "Aly, do you love me, too?" He gently caressed her cheek with his hand.  
  
She looked at him, a bit startled. She hadn't expected a question like this! Yes, she THOUGHT she loved him. 'But do I really?' she wondered. She closed her eyes, and tried to think of a future with Nawat.  
  
Yes, she could clearly imagine a future with Nawat. She looked into his wide eyes. "Of course I do," she said softly. "More than anything."  
  
He smiled widely, and pulled her close to him. He kissed the top of her head, and stroked her hair. Aly snuggled into the nook of his arm. "I'm the perfect fit," she teased, as he held her close.  
  
"You are perfect," he said, and smiled. "And I've always loved you. Even when I was a crow."  
  
"I've always loved you, too," she said, voice soft. She was surprised that a small tear trickled down her red, blushing cheek. She was astonished at how girly she was being. But she just shook her head to herself, leaned against Nawat, and closed her eyes. Soon, she was fast asleep. 


End file.
